Archives for October 2007

The shortage of skilled labour in Canada has been deemed the most important challenge for Canadian business leaders, according to a recent study.

The C-Suite survey of Canadian executives reports that 84 per cent of respondents are having a difficult time finding qualified and available skilled workers to staff their businesses. According to the surveyed executives, licensed tradespeople are the hardest employees to find, especially in the service sector and manufacturing and resource industries. With 50 per cent of the current skilled trade work force retiring in the next 15 years, Canadian businesses are calling on the government to make Canada’s human resource challenge a top priority.

One government response to the demand for skilled labourers has been to encourage more people to enroll in vocational training. Whether Canadian born, landed immigrant, or soon-to-be Canadian immigrant, an individual with skilled trade education is highly employable in the current Canadian economy. Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) recently launched the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, designed to help apprentices in skilled trades offset the costs of their tools, tuition, and travel. It also introduced the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit – a monetary incentive for employers who engage apprentices. The 2006 budget allocated $500 million over two years to support skilled tradespeople in Canada.

Additionally, the 2007 federal budget committed $50.5 million over two years to make improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Canadian businesses have been using the program extensively to fill the abundance of available jobs for skilled tradespeople in Canada. The improvements involve streamlining requirements, improving protection of foreign workers, and reducing the amount of time it takes to respond to regional skill and labour shortages.

Despite these temporary remedies for filling skill shortages, representatives of labour-tight skilled trade industries are not satisfied. The construction industry, for instance, which has been suffering from severe labour shortages and is bracing for even greater challenges in the coming years, is calling on the government to make fundamental changes to Canadian immigration admittance policies. “The issue is the points system puts more of an emphasis on post-secondary education than tangible skills,” explains Jeff Morrison of the Canadian Construction Association, who has been vocal about a need for immigration reform.

These tangible skills are most in need in Western Canada, where the booming economy is acting as a magnet for skilled labourers, not only from around the world, but also from the rest Canada. Consequently, there are skill shortages from coast to coast. For skilled labourers, there has never been a better time to find work in Canada.

Under the Agreement for Canada-Prince Edward Island Co-operation on Immigration, the Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) fast-tracks Canadian immigration applications.

The Prince Edward Island (PEI) provincial government is looking to recruit individuals to increase its population, its supply of skilled workers, and to fuel business and economic development. Through the PEI PNP, applicants can seek Canadian Permanent Residency in PEI’s unique island setting “where quality time multiplies, where the drive home after a long day’s work can take all of ten minutes, and where the beach is only twenty minutes away.” PEI PNP applicants who meet minimum requirement for age, education, experience, and language ability can qualify under one of four categories: Skilled Worker, Immigrant Entrepreneur, Immigrant Partner, or Immigrant Connections.

Skilled Worker Category – The PEI government maintains a Skills Shortage List to keep job-seekers up to date as to the demand for skilled workers in certain industries. PNP Skilled Worker applicants must have a permanent full-time job offer from a PEI employer and the intention to settle permanently in the province. Applicants must have the necessary English or French language skills and the education and training required for the position.

Immigrant Entrepreneur Category – Immigrant Entrepreneur nominees plan to either establish a new enterprise in Prince Edward Island or purchase an existing business. They must have a business plan and several years of business management experience. The provincial government requires Immigrant Entrepreneur nominees to make several deposits in escrow to PEI, which will be returned after one year’s residency and the establishment of the proposed business. The applicants must also satisfy minimum requirements for personal net worth and amount invested in the PEI business.

Immigrant Partner Category – The Immigrant Partner applicant proposes to make an investment in an existing PEI company and plans to take an active managerial role in its operations. Immigrant Partner nominees must also make several deposits in escrow to PEI and must satisfy minimum requirements for personal net worth and amount invested in the company.

Immigrant Connections Category – Specifically referring to family connections, this category reunites close family members in Prince Edward Island. Eligible family members, referred to as ‘Champions’, must have resided in PEI for at least two years and must be Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents in good standing. Champions can nominate their parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, cousins, aunts or uncles, nieces or nephews. Applicants must have a permanent full-time job offer from a PEI employer or the have the intention and capacity to obtain one.

By designating the third week of October as Canadian Citizenship Week, Citizenship and Immigration Canada encourages all Canadians “to reflect on the value of citizenship, what it means to be Canadian and the rights, privileges and responsibilities of citizenship.”

Many citizenship ceremonies were held in communities across the country throughout Citizenship Week, in which hundreds of Canadian Permanent Residents took the oath of citizenship and became full-fledged Canadian citizens. “This makes it complete,” states one such participant, “I am Canadian.” Many Canadian citizens took part in these ceremonies as well, taking the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to Canada.

It has been sixty years since Canada became the first Commonwealth country to gain its own citizenship legislation. Before Canada’s Citizenship Act was established, residents were considered British subjects living in Canada, rather than Canadian citizens. Since then, nearly six million people have been granted Canadian citizenship, about 160,000 every year. “As we celebrate the 60th anniversary, we reflect on the cornerstones of Canadian citizenship – the values of freedom, respect and belonging. These values that are deeply rooted in the Canadian psyche are also expressed in the way we live out lives and build a stronger Canada,” states Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

According to the 2001 national census, approximately 84 per cent of eligible immigrants are Canadian citizens. In order to become a Canadian citizen, a person must satisfy several requirements. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, hold Permanent Resident status, and have lived in Canada for at least three years (1,095 days) out of the four years before applying. Legal guardians can apply for children under 18, as long as the guardian is a Canadian citizen or is in the process of obtaining citizenship. Applicants must also have a command of at least one of the country’s official languages and have no prohibitive criminal history. Eligible individuals will take a citizenship test, which measures their language abilities and knowledge of Canada (history, geography, political system, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens).

Those who pass the test are rewarded with an invitation to a citizenship ceremony. At these ceremonies, participants officially accept the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship. They proclaim the oath of citizenship and are presented with their certificates of Canadian citizenship.

Canadians are proud to hold one of the most valued citizenships in the world. The following passage is written on the Canadian Bill of Rights – a bill that encompasses the Canadian rejection of discrimination by reason of race, national origin, colour, religion, or sex: “I am a Canadian, a free Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship God in my own way, free to stand for what I think is right, free to oppose what I believe is wrong, free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.”

Recent modifications to British Columbia’s Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) make it easier for immigrants to establish new businesses in the province. This article serves as an update to the Business section of the BC PNP article that appeared in the April 2007 edition of CICNews.

Niagara Falls is one of the wonders of the world, and a point of Canadian national pride. The Falls lie on the border with the United States, however the more impressive Horseshoe Falls are within Canada’s jurisdiction. While Canadians take pride in ownership of the better share of the famous waterfall, recent incidents at the nearby border crossing with the U.S. call into question how much control Canada really holds over its famous landmark, and who may enter the country to see it.